A/N: The lines in italics are from Jealous by Idina Menzel.

I'm jealous of the air that fills you...

Competitive wasn't a strong enough word to describe Aubrey Posen. Ever since she was little, her father had taught her that being less than the best was not an option. She had been valedictorian in high school, graduated top of her undergraduate class and was easily accepted into Harvard Medical School. She had met a couple of people who had given her a run for her money along the way, but no one had ever come close to beating her. She's used a combination of hard work, natural smarts, and, when it was called for, intimidation to get to where she was now. Yes, Aubrey was competitive, but she had never really had any real competition until now.

Their grades were in for the first round of midterms. Aubrey had dragged Chloe, her roommate, to the school bright and early to check on their grades. Chloe had complained that they could check them online but Aubrey had insisted. She was sure she'd gotten an A in every class but she loved seeing her name at the top of all the lists. They got to the board where all the grades were posted and Aubrey smiled. She checked on the first list, her eyes going immediately to the first name which was... not hers. "Stacie Conrad?"

She looked for her other classes. Her name was second to this Stacie girl in all of them except for Anatomy. Aubrey's mouth fell open in shock. She slowly walked away from the board with one hand on her chest until her back hit the wall on the other side of the hallway. She slid down to the floor mumbling.

Chloe wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't known Aubrey for that long, they were assigned a room together at the beginning of the semester and they had become friends, good friends even, but she hadn't seen Aubrey this upset before. She kneeled down in front of her.

"Bree, it's okay. I'm sure you'll get an A next time." She patted her knee.

Aubrey blinked and looked up at Chloe. "I did get A's."

Chloe scrunched up her face confused. "Then what's the problem?"

Aubrey took a deep breath, a look of determination that made Chloe fear for her life settled on her face. "Stacie Conrad is the problem."

Chloe raised her eyebrow. "What did Stacie do?"

Aubrey gasped. "You know her?"

"I've talked to her a couple of times before class." Chloe shrugged. "She's nice."

Aubrey scoffed. "Nice people don't take my top spot."

Chloe tried not to roll her eyes at that. "I doubt she did it on purpose, she probably doesn't even know you exist."

"Oh, she will."

Stacie had never cared about being the best at anything. She'd always had good grades, but she wasn't worried about being at the top of her class. She had fun in high school; she was popular enough to get away with being in all AP classes, math club and be a cheerleader.

When her father died of an aggressive brain tumor, Stacie decided wanted to be a doctor. She got into a top tier college and worked hard to keep her GPA up. She also partied hard; she had been social chair of her sorority and dated liberally. She had never had a serious relationship, most people bored her, and she prefered to just be friends with the people who didn't. It was less complicated, less drama. When she finished her undergrad, she got a scholarship to go to Harvard. She had stopped partying and focused on her classes.

Stacie liked the program but she hadn't really made any friends. Not that she had actually tried to be friends with anyone, most people seemed incredibly self centered and stuck up, and they were so competitive it scared her. She had talked a couple of times with a girl that hadn't been so bad, a bubbly redhead, but she wouldn't call her a friend.

"Hey, nerd, whatcha doin?" Beca sat on the couch next to Stacie and turned the TV on. Stacie hadn't wanted to live in a dorm so she was sharing an apartment with a Music Production student from Berklee. Stacie had liked her immediately and they had become friends in the months they'd been living together.

Stacie didn't look up from her computer. "Checking my grades."

"Straight A's?"

"Yup." Stacie smiled. "There's a party tonight, do you wanna go?"

"I thought you hated everyone, why do you wanna go to a party with them?"

"I don't hate everyone, they're just too intense." She closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table. "I don't know! There might be someone there who isn't annoying, I'm gonna spend the next four years with these people, I might as well get to know them."

"I don't think intense is my thing, sorry Stace." Beca patted her knee. "And I have this song I have to work on."

Stacie crossed her arms. "I guess I'll go by myself."

"Do you think she'll come?" Aubrey asked.

"I don't know, Bree." Chloe was over Aubrey's obsession with Stacie, it was all she'd talked about all day. She had asked Chloe everything she knew about her, which wasn't much, so most of the conversation had been Aubrey speculating about her and Chloe nodding occasionally.

"Well if you see her, point her out."

"I will." Chloe crossed her arms. They were standing by the door, Aubrey wanted to make sure they spotted Stacie as soon as she came in. "I'm gonna go dance."

"Wait! I don't know what she looks like."

Chloe looked up at the ceiling exasperatedly. "What if she doesn't come? Come on, Bree, we're supposed to be having fun! I promise I'll tell you the moment I see her. Let's dance." Chloe took her hand and pulled her towards the dancefloor. Aubrey rolled her eyes but followed Chloe.

Aubrey knew she was being a little more insane than usual. She just didn't know how to handle this. She had never been second best. She needed to do something, talk to the girl, throw her drink at her face, anything. Maybe throwing her drink at her face was a little too much, but she couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

They had been dancing for a while when Chloe grabbed Aubrey and pulled her away. "There she is, look!"

Aubrey looked in the direction Chloe was pointing. "That's Stacie Conrad?" Aubrey didn't picture her being so… beautiful. Aubrey frowned and shook her head. She watched Stacie walk to the bar and shout her order to the bartender. Aubrey waited for her to move away from the bar and walked up to her. "You're Stacie Conrad."

Stacie turned. She checked Aubrey out, raised her eyebrows appreciatively and smiled. "I am. Are you a fan?"

"What? No." Aubrey opened and closed her mouth. This girl was really confusing her. "I'm Aubrey Posen."

Stacie smiled amused. "Hi, Aubrey Posen, what can I do for you?"

Aubrey crossed her arms and took a step closer to Stacie, making her step back instinctively. "I just wanted to warn you to not get too comfortable on that top spot." She took another step and Stacie's back hit the wall. "I'll be the first in class by the time the semester ends."

Stacie did her best to not laugh. This was the kind of intensity she meant when she told Beca about her classmates. "O-kay."

Aubrey took another step, they were standing really close now. "I haven't been second anything ever and I'm not about to start now."

Stacie's eyes narrowed. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little turned on by the furious blonde. She thought this was absolutely ridiculous but still, there was something about the passion behind Aubrey's eyes that made her want to flip them over and kiss her senseless against the wall. The girl looked like she was wound tighter than a two dollar watch though, she probably wouldn't appreciate it if she did it. She thought she saw Aubrey's eyes dart down to her lips but she must have imagined it. "I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"Good. I wasn't asking you to." Aubrey realized how close they were, she could feel Stacie's breath on her face. Aubrey's stomach flipped in a not necessarily unpleasant way. She quickly took a step back. "See you around, Stacie Conrad." She walked away leaving a slightly confused and turned on Stacie leaning on the wall.

"How was the party?" Beca asked from the couch when Stacie walked in.

"It was okay." Stacie threw herself on the couch. "This crazy blonde cornered me though. Apparently she's not very happy not being at the top of the class."

"She sounds delightful." Beca grumbled sarcastically.

"Yeah, I told you these people were intense." Stacie bit her lip. "I wouldn't mind being on top of her for real though, she was super hot."

"Stacie!" Beca looked at her. "You're not thinking about going out with the crazy chick, are you?"

"Of course not. She hates me, it's not like she'd agree to go out with me anyway. And even if she didn't hate me, I doubt she's gay, she's got 'stuck-up conservative' written all over her face."

Beca pouted exaggeratedly at her. "Aw, well, I'm sorry it's not going to work out between you and that insane person you just met."

Stacie glared at her. "Whatever, I don't care."

Aubrey had been staring at the ceiling since she woke up. Chloe came back from her shower and quirked an eyebrow at her. She was usually out on her run by now but she didn't look like she was planning on moving anytime soon. Chloe sat on her bed and looked at her. She was frowning with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Chloe smirked. "Still thinking about Stacie?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not thinking about her" Chloe shrugged and laid back on her bed. Aubrey bit her lip and sat up. "I think I might have been too aggressive. I've never had to deal with a situation like this. I've never felt like this."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Well maybe you should talk to her and clear the air."

Aubrey settled back on her bed. "Maybe."

The cigarette that slowly kills you…

Stacie took a drag of her cigarette. She was sitting on a bench in front of the library, she was leaning her elbows on her knees and looking down at the floor. Her last class had just ended and she was planning on going into the library to study for a while. "That thing will kill you."

Stacie's head snapped up to find Aubrey standing a few feet away. Stacie shrugged. "Gotta die of something, right?"

"I guess." Aubrey took a step closer and Stacie dropped her cigarette and stamped it off. "Mind if I sit?"

Stacie looked at her suspiciously. "Are you going to threaten me again?"

"No." Aubrey moved closer and pointed at the bench. Stacie scooted to one side and Aubrey sat next to her. "I'm sorry about the other night. I think I may have come off to strong."

"You think?" Stacie raised her eyebrow at her with an amused expression.

"I'm trying to apologize here, I don't do this very often." Aubrey turned away from Stacie.

Stacie reached out and squeezed Aubrey's hand resting on her lap. "I'm sorry, please continue."

She pulled her hand away almost immediately and Aubrey frowned. "I didn't mean to threaten you, it's just, I'm used to being the best. And when I saw your name on top of mine I freaked out."

"It's okay, I get it." Aubrey looked at her surprised and Stacie gave her a small smile. "I mean, I don't really care that much about being the best but I get why someone like you might react the way you did."

Aubrey smiled and Stacie's heart skipped a beat. From what she could tell about Aubrey, she wasn't someone who smiled a lot. Stacie smiled back. "Let's start again." Aubrey stretched out her hand in front of her. "Hi, I'm Aubrey."

Stacie took Aubrey's hand and shook it with a chuckle. "It's very nice to meet you, Aubrey. I'm Stacie."

Aubrey took her hand back and nodded. "Well, Stacie, I won't take any more of your time. I just didn't want you to think I was insane."

Stacie smirked and nodded. Aubrey got up and started to walk away. "Wait!" Stacie grabbed her bag and got up, following Aubrey. "I was going to the library to study for a while, would you like to join me?" Aubrey tilted her head. "I have different colored highlighters." Stacie grinned.

Aubrey chuckled. "Alright." She nodded. "I guess I should study if I want to beat you."

"Hey! I thought you were done threatening me."

"That wasn't a threat!" Aubrey stuck her tongue out. Stacie smiled at her, this was going to be a problem.

They left the library and Aubrey started walking back towards the dorms. Stacie's apartment was the opposite way but she didn't say anything and walked with Aubrey. There was something very intriguing about her that made Stacie want to unravel the enigma that was Aubrey Posen. They hadn't talked a lot while they studied but she had seen Aubrey throwing curious glances at her. One time, she had caught Aubrey blatantly staring at her, she smirked and Aubrey ducked her head blushing. After that, Stacie had upped her game. She leaned over the table whenever she asked her something and she brushed Aubrey's fingers when they exchanged highlighters. Aubrey's only obvious reaction was the sharp intake of breath the first time Stacie touched her, beyond that, Aubrey had appeared oblivious to Stacie's advances. However, Stacie believed she had chipped her armor and was set on cracking it.

"So, why do you want to be a doctor?" Aubrey asked. Stacie looked at her then looked down. She didn't like talking about her dad, and she always spouted some prefabricated line about giving back and helping people, but she didn't want to lie to Aubrey. Aubrey noticed her discomfort. "You don't have to tell me if it's too personal."

"No, it's okay." Stacie gave her a reassuring smile. "My dad died when I was in high school, brain tumor. The doctors couldn't do anything for him, it was really bad, so I decided to become a doctor, maybe do something so other people didn't have to go through that."

Aubrey took her hand. "I'm sorry, Stace. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must have been."

They had stopped walking. Aubrey was looking at her but Stacie refused to meet her gaze. Whenever she told someone about her dad, they would look at her with pity and she hated it. She felt Aubrey's thumb rubbing the back of her hand and she finally looked up at Aubrey. She was surprised when she realized she wasn't looking at her with pity, but with worry and something she couldn't quite identify. Stacie smiled at her and turned to continue walking, tugging lightly on her hand. They walked in silence for a bit, neither of them letting go of the other's hand. Stacie looked at Aubrey and squeezed her fingers. "Why do you want to be a doctor?"

"Family tradition. My dad, my mom, and my two older brothers are doctors. They all came here so I followed." Aubrey shrugged.

"Do you like it? I mean, would you have wanted to do something else?"

Aubrey thought about it for a second before responding. "I don't know. I never really thought about doing anything else. This is what I've been working for since I can remember."

"So you've never wanted to be anything else?" Aubrey shook her head. "Not even when you were little?"

"Nope, this is all I've ever wanted to be. What did you want to be when you were little?"

Stacie puffed out a breath. "A lot of things. I had an archeologist phase, a journalist phase, a mermaid phase."

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her. "You wanted to be a mermaid? You know that's not a job."

"I was little, I didn't know that!"

Aubrey laughed. "You're adorable." She blushed. "I mean, the mermaid thing is adorable."

Stacie was about to say something when Aubrey stopped and pointed at the building in front of them. "This is me. Which building are you in?"

"Oh I'm not in the dorms, I have an apartment on the other side of the park." Stacie suddenly seemed very interested in her shoes.

"Why didn't you say something?" Aubrey tugged on the hand she was still holding.

"I don't know, I wanted to spend more time with you. The library isn't really the best place for a conversation."

Aubrey didn't know what to say. Usually people thought she was annoying or scary so they didn't want to spend time with her. She didn't understand why Stacie would want to do it, especially after how she acted at the party. "I don't understand."

Stacie shrugged. "You're interesting." Stacie smiled at her and lifted her hand, kissing it on the back softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Aubrey watched her walk away, her heart beating loudly in her chest. When she was at the corner, Stacie turned back and waved at her. She waved back absentmindedly and watched her disappear around the corner. She stood there a moment longer trying to collect herself. She could still feel Stacie's lips on her hand. She didn't quite understand what she was feeling but she knew she didn't want it to go away.

Chloe felt someone sit next to her. She looked up expecting to find Aubrey but it wasn't her. "Hey, Stacie."

"Hey, Chlo. I wanted to ask you something." She looked at the door nervously.

"Sure, Stace, what is it?" Chloe closed her book and gave Stacie her full attention.

"What's the deal with Aubrey?"

Chloe smiled. Aubrey had been acting weird since the first day she came back late from the library. She had been coming back late from the library a lot lately and Chloe suspected it had something to do with Stacie. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're her roommate, right?" Chloe nodded. "Has she ever said anything to indicate she might not be completely straight?"

"Oh my god! Are you thinking about asking her out?" Chloe squealed.

"Chloe!" Stacie shushed her. "You can't say anything to her."

"I won't." Chloe grinned. "You should totes ask her out."

"She's coming, not a word." Stacie pointed warningly at Chloe and stood up. "Hi, Bree."

"Hi, Stace." The class was about to start. "See you later?"

"Of course." Stacie smiled and made her way to her usual seat a little further back. She and Aubrey had been studying together a lot. Neither of them said anything, they just showed up at the library, at the table they had used the first time.

"What was that about?" Chloe asked with a smirk.

"Nothing, we're just studying." Aubrey bit her pen and looked down at her book, ignoring Chloe.

"Right."

The novelty of other women
All their kisses, that's a given…

"Beca, come on! I want you to meet Aubrey." Stacie pouted from the couch.

"Fine! I'll go meet your insane girlfriend." Beca threw her arms up and walked to her room to change for the party.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Stacie shouted at her back. "Yet…"

They arrived at the party. Stacie immediately looked around trying to find Aubrey and frowned when she couldn't find her. "I guess she's not here yet."

Beca shook her head. "You've really got it bad for her, huh?"

Stacie scoffed. "No." She looked around again and her face lit up. "Look, jello shots!"

By the time Aubrey made it to the party, Stacie and Beca had already had a few jello shots and a couple of regular shots and were dancing together. Aubrey turned to Chloe. "Who's that with Stacie?"

"I don't know." Chloe shrugged. "She's cute though."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. Stacie was bending down to say something to Beca. The shorter girl threw her head back laughing as Stacie continued to dance behind her, her hands resting on Beca's hips. Aubrey's nostrils flared and she turned away. "I'm getting a drink."

She was finishing chugging down her third drink when Stacie saw her and skipped over, dragging Beca behind her. "Bree, you're here!" Stacie slurred with a dopey grin. Aubrey looked at her over her cup and nodded. "I wanted you to meet my Beca." She giggled and turned to Beca, pulling her in front of Aubrey. "I called you my Beca. Her name is Beca"

Aubrey felt her stomach turning. "Nice to meet you, Beca." She spat out the name.

"Wow, you were right. She's delightful." Beca said looking at Stacie and chuckled. Stacie elbowed her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Aubrey put her hands on her hips.

Stacie pushed Beca away from Aubrey. "Nothing, she's drunk. We're drunk. We're gonna go over there."

"Bye, blondie!" Beca turned to wave at Aubrey and tripped, making Stacie crash into her. Stacie wrapped her arms around Beca's waist to keep them from falling, both of them laughing drunkenly.

Aubrey turned and refilled her cup, walking over to where Chloe was talking to some of their classmates. "I'm leaving."

"What? Why?" Chloe excused herself and turned to Aubrey.

Aubrey looked in the direction of Stacie and Beca and then turned to Chloe, straightening her back. "I just don't want to be here anymore. I'll see you back in our room."

Chloe looked over Aubrey's shoulder and saw the reason for Aubrey's discomfort. "Wait, I'll come with you."

Aubrey shrugged and walked out, Chloe hurrying behind her. When they exited the building, Chloe caught up with Aubrey and laced their arms. Aubrey stiffened but slowed down a little. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"About you being jealous of that girl who came with Stacie."

Aubrey freed her arm from Chloe's and moved away. "Jealous? I'm not jealous." She crossed her arms. "Why would I be jealous of Stacie's girlfriend?"

Chloe quirked her eyebrow. "She's her girlfriend?"

"You saw them! They were touching and laughing and ugh." Aubrey threw her arms up.

"But you're not jealous." Chloe deadpanned.

"It doesn't matter, Chloe, she's with someone."

Chloe bit her lip. She could tell Aubrey about the conversation she had with Stacie in class but she promised she wouldn't say anything. Besides, if Stacie really was with Beca, telling Aubrey would only make things worse. Stacie never actually said she was going to ask Aubrey out, she just implied it. Maybe she didn't like Aubrey. She caught up to Aubrey and grabbed her arm again, pulling Aubrey close and resting her head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bree."

I'm jealous of your saddest day
The tear that lingers on your face…

Stacie wasn't sure what had happened. She looked for Aubrey later at the party and couldn't find her. She didn't think too much of it though, Aubrey didn't look like a big party girl. That Monday after class, Aubrey didn't show up to the library. Again, Stacie shrugged it off, maybe she had something to do. By the third day Aubrey missed their study sessions, Stacie started to worry. She tried to think what could have happened. She didn't think what Beca had said warranted Aubrey avoiding her. And they hadn't talked after that.

The next day, she got to class early and waited outside, leaning next to the door. She saw Aubrey walking with Chloe towards her and straightened up. Aubrey leaned close to say something to Chloe who looked at her and then looked at Stacie thoughtfully. "Hey, Bree, can we talk?"

Aubrey hesitated for a second. "I have to finish reading something before class, I'm sorry." She walked past Stacie and into the classroom. Stacie tried to talk to her again after class but Aubrey brushed her off, claiming she was busy.

She tried to talk to Chloe, but she was always with Aubrey. She texted both of them, Aubrey ignored her and Chloe replied that she thought it was best if they didn't talk about Aubrey.

After that, Stacie stopped trying. She would still go to the library every day and sit on the same table with the hope that Aubrey would show up, but she never did.

Aubrey noticed Stacie's lingering looks. She noticed how she deflated every time she didn't return a smile. She even walked by their table a few times when she went to the library and saw her sitting there. Every time she noticed these things, she wondered if she had been wrong, if maybe Stacie did like her back. But she couldn't allow herself to hope. She knew it was selfish to stop talking to someone just because they were unavailable but she knew she couldn't be Stacie's friend without her crush growing into something more. It was better to stop talking to Stacie now before she would really get hurt. Maybe she'd get over it eventually and they could be friends.

It was cold and it was raining and all Aubrey wanted was to be back in her room under a blanket with a mug of hot chocolate, but she had left her bag in the library and all her things were in there so she had to go out and get it. She was on her way back, the bottom of her pants clinging to her legs, her umbrella not helping a lot because of the strong wind. At least everything seemed to still be in her bag, someone had turned it into the front desk. Everything looked deserted, no one wanting to go out unless it was absolutely necessary. Which it was why she was surprised to see someone sitting on a bench. She was even more surprised when she noticed it was Stacie. She stopped in front of her. She was soaking wet, her hair stuck to the side of her face and falling limply over her coat. "Stacie, what are you doing here?"

Stacie looked up at her and blinked like she had just noticed she was there. Aubrey wasn't sure because of the rain, but she looked like she had been crying. "Oh so you're talking to me now?"

Aubrey was taken aback by the anger in Stacie's voice but she knew it was fair. Aubrey pulled her bag closer to herself to keep it from getting too wet. She decided to ignore Stacie's question. "You're gonna get sick, come."

Aubrey held out her hand. Stacie looked at it, Aubrey's sleeve started to get wet but the blonde didn't care. After a while Aubrey dropped her hand. "Fine, if you don't want to get out of the rain then we won't get out of the rain." She closed her umbrella and sat on the bench next to her.

She crossed her arms and looked at Stacie challengingly. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me or you agree to get out of the rain with me."

"Why do you even care? You haven't talked to me in over a month." The anger in her voice was gone but she looked genuinely confused.

Aubrey turned and grabbed one of Stacie's hands. They were freezing. "I just do." She brushed Stacie's hair away from her forehead and noticed she was trembling. "Can we please talk about this somewhere else? You're freezing."

Stacie nodded and Aubrey stood, not bothering with her umbrella. Her dorm was closer than Stacie's apartment so they walked there. She ushered Stacie into her room and pushed her inside the bathroom. "There are towels under the sink. I'll bring something for you to change into."

When Stacie came out, Aubrey was sitting on her bed wearing sweats; her hair was tied back, a few wet strands framing her face. Stacie leaned on the doorframe and looked at her for a moment with a small smile before stepping into the room. "Thanks for the clothes, I'll wash them and give them back as soon as possible."

She hesitated then turned to leave. "Stacie, wait!" Stacie turned back. Aubrey stood up and walked up to her. "Is everything okay?"

Stacie ran her hand through her wet hair. "I'm okay, Aubrey, you don't have to pretend that you care."

"Stace, I-" Aubrey took her hand. "I'm not pretending."

Stacie wrenched her hand away. "Then why did you stop talking to me?"

"Because I'm an idiot." Aubrey placed her hand on her arm. "Please talk to me. Why were you sitting in the rain trying to catch the biggest cold of your life?"

Stacie sighed and sat on Aubrey's bed. Aubrey sat next to her and took her hand, rubbing circles on the back with her thumb. "It's the anniversary of my dad's death. I was just sitting on the bench thinking when it started raining and I didn't really feel like moving." She looked up at Aubrey. "Until you came along."

Aubrey released her hand and wrapped her arm around Stacie's shoulder. Stacie rested her head on Aubrey's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Stace." She kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer.

They stayed like that for a while. Stacie started playing with the fingers of Aubrey's other hand and Aubrey was trying really hard to not flinch. This wasn't about her or her stupid feelings for Stacie. Finally Stacie turned her head slightly, Aubrey could feel her breath on her neck. "Why did you really stop talking to me?"

Aubrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering. "Because I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Stacie sat up, making Aubrey's arm around her fall. Her other hand was still in Stacie's. "Are you still not over me being at the top of the class?"

Aubrey looked at Stacie frowning. "No, it's not that." She looked down at their linked hands. "I was jealous of Beca."

"Beca? Why would you be jealous of Beca?"

The door opened and Chloe came stumbling in. "Oh my god, the rain is insane. I need a shower and…" She looked up and saw Stacie sitting on Aubrey's bed. "I'm sorry, I didn't… I can come back."

Stacie stood up. "No, Chloe, I was just leaving." She turned to Aubrey. "Thanks for everything."

I'm jealous of the words you fumble
From your silky lips they stumble...

Beca bobbed her head as she went through the new arrivals section at the record store. She didn't love going to the mall with Stacie but she always took her to the record store when they were done. Stacie had gone further into the store to look around while Beca looked at the new stuff.

Beca felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to find a redhead looking at her with a huge smile. "You're Beca!"

Beca frowned. "Yes, how do you know my name?"

"I'm Chloe! I saw you at a party once. Wow I sound like a stalker. I'm in your girlfriend's class."

"My what?" Beca yelled. Stacie heard her and walked back to where they were. She was surprised to see Chloe there talking to Beca.

"Hey, Chlo. Beca, this is Chloe, we go to school together. Although it seems you've met."

"Her?" Beca asked Chloe who nodded. Beca turned to Stacie. "Why does she think you're my girlfriend?"

"What?" Stacie laughed. "She's my roommate."

"You don't have to laugh." Beca grumbled.

"Wait, you're not dating anyone?" Stacie shook her head. Chloe gasped and covered her mouth.

Stacie and Beca looked at her with furrowed brows. "Why did you think I was with Beca?"

"Aubrey said you were."

"Aubrey?" Stacie didn't understand why Aubrey would think she was with Beca. "Oh my god. Is that why she was jealous of Beca? Because she thought we were together? Does that mean…" She looked at Chloe for confirmation. Chloe nodded. "She likes me?" Chloe nodded again. "I have to go talk to her."

"She said she'd be at the library all day."

"Thanks, Chlo!" Stacie hugged Chloe and ran out of the store.

Chloe and Beca watched her leave. Beca looked at Chloe and smiled awkwardly. "So, Beca, are you single too?"

Stacie stopped in front of the library. She really hadn't thought this through, her only concern had been getting to Aubrey but, now that she was here, she didn't know what she was going to say. She walked up the steps and into the library. She figured it didn't really matter, things couldn't be worse than Aubrey not talking to her.

She walked around the library until she saw her. She was sitting at their table reading. Stacie walked up to her and sat on the chair opposite Aubrey. It took Aubrey a minute to notice someone had joined her. She looked up and smiled when she saw it was Stacie. "Hi."

Stacie smiled back. "Hi." She looked around them and leaned down to whisper. "I think you could use a break right now."

Aubrey looked at her suspiciously. "You do?" Stacie nodded. "Okay." Aubrey packed her things and followed Stacie outside. The sun was shining brightly, erasing all evidence of the previous day's storm.

They started walking away from the library. "So I was at the mall with Beca." Aubrey frowned but stayed silent. She had decided she wanted Stacie in her life even if she was with someone, but having her relationship rubbed in her face wasn't nice. "And we ran into Chloe and she said the funniest thing."

"Oh?" Aubrey didn't understand where this conversation was going.

"She thought Beca was my girlfriend." Stacie said smiling. "Which is ridiculous."

Aubrey stopped walking. "You're not with Beca."

Stacie turned around to face her. "Nope." She took her hand. "So then I thought that maybe that was why you were jealous of Beca." Aubrey looked down. "And that maybe that meant that, this thing I thought we had before you stopped talking to me, wasn't just in my head."

Aubrey's head snapped up. "You thought we had a thing?"

Stacie hesitated for the first time. "Was I wrong? If these feelings are one sided, we can forget about this whole thing and go back to just studying together."

"Feelings?" Aubrey's eyes widened.

"Shit, did I say feelings? Okay, let's start again... I like you. Whoa, making it worse." Stacie closed her eyes and put her hands on her head. Aubrey started laughing. Stacie opened her eyes and crossed her arms glaring at Aubrey. "I know I'm pathetic, but you don't have to laugh."

"No, Stace." She laughed more. "I'm not laughing at you."

Stacie quirked an eyebrow at her and pursed her lips. "Then why are you laughing?"

Aubrey stopped laughing and moved close to Stacie, running her hands up Stacie's arms and resting them on her shoulders. "I'm laughing because this is ridiculous. I stopped talking to you because I didn't know how to deal with my feelings for you when I thought you were with someone."

Stacie uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on Aubrey's waist. "Oh."

Aubrey took a step closer to Stacie, her eyes traveling to her lips for a second. "But you're not with someone." Stacie shook her head, her nose bumping with Aubrey's. "And you like me." Stacie nodded. "And I like you." Aubrey closed the gap between their lips and kissed her softly.

Stacie smiled into the kiss and pulled Aubrey closer, her hands moving to Aubrey's lower back. When they parted Stacie kept her eyes closed, savoring the moment. "I've been thinking about doing that since you cornered me the first time we met."

Aubrey chuckled. "Really?" Stacie nodded. Aubrey pecked her lips. "So we could have been doing this since then?"

Stacie laughed. "I think you would've slapped me if I had kissed you then."

Aubrey hummed. "Probably."

Stacie kissed her again. Her tongue traced Aubrey's lower lip before biting it gently. Aubrey moaned into her mouth, her hands moving to the back of Stacie's neck. Stacie pulled back and rested her forehead on Aubrey's. "Maybe I can take you to dinner and we can start making up for lost time?"

"That sounds great."

I'm jealous of the nights in winter
And the covers that you cling to…

Aubrey stopped by the door and looked outside. "It's still snowing."

"It's supposed to snow all day, babe." Stacie wrapped her arms around her from behind and looked over her shoulder.

"I don't want to get stuck in the library." Aubrey frowned.

"We can go to my apartment and study there."

Aubrey shook her head. "We'll just end up having sex. We need to study."

Stacie smiled at the memory of the last time they tried to study in her apartment. She was tempted to try to convince Aubrey but she knew she was right, they only had a week before finals and, since they started dating, their study sessions were interrupted a lot. "We can go to your room, Chloe can study with us and we won't get distracted."

"Okay." Aubrey whimpered before closing her coat. "I hate this weather."

They got to Aubrey's room and shook the snow off their boots before going in. Stacie swept snowflakes off Aubrey's hair while Aubrey shook Stacie's jacket. Aubrey shivered as she took off her coat and hung it by the door. "Hey, Chlo, mind if we study here?"

"Of course not! You're the one who doesn't like to study with me." Chloe pouted.

Stacie chuckled. "Why?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and changed her socks before jumping on her bed with her book. "She makes up the most ridiculous stories."

"They're called mnemonic devices and they work!"

"They make no sense." Aubrey stretched out her hand and pulled Stacie onto the bed.

They started out sitting side by side, their knees touching. Aubrey got cold and moved closer to Stacie, who wrapped her arm around her shoulders. After a while, Stacie needed her hand so she pushed Aubrey forward and moved behind her, her legs and arms on either side of her body. Throughout all of this, they didn't pause their discussion. They did stop, however, when they heard a squeak coming from the other side of the room. Chloe was looking at them with a big smile, hugging her book against her chest. "Is everything okay there, Chlo?"

Chloe nodded. "You're just so cute!"

"We're not cute, we're just studying." Aubrey said with an eyeroll.

Stacie pulled her closer to her chest and buried her nose in her neck. "You're cute."

Aubrey tried not to smile but failed. Chloe squealed and stood up. "You guys are going to kill me with your cuteness. I need a break, do you want something from the vending machine?" They both shook their heads.

As soon as Chloe closed the door, Stacie sneaked her hands under Aubrey's shirt, splaying her fingers on her stomach. Aubrey squirmed. "Your hands are cold!"

"I know, that's why they're there, to get warm." She started running her fingers over Aubrey's abs making her shiver.

"Find another place to warm them up." Stacie chuckled and started kissing Aubrey's neck. Her fingers moved lower and reached the waist of her pants, lifting it and tracing the edge of Aubrey's underwear. Aubrey yelped. "Stacie! Chloe's coming back soon."

"You told me to find another place to warm up my hands!"

"I didn't mean there!" Aubrey could feel her resolve start to crumble. The tip of one of Stacie's fingers moved under the waistband of her underwear and Aubrey grabbed Stacie's hands and held them on the bed. "We came here so this wouldn't happen. Now tell me about Ribonucleotide Excision Repair."

I'm jealous of your guilty conscience
It's always right there with you waiting, watching…

Stacie read the email and bit her lip. Things were going really well between her and Aubrey, she didn't want this to be a problem. She decided to keep the contents of the email to herself for now.

"Baby, what are you doing?" Aubrey skipped into the living room. Stacie quickly closed her laptop and set it on the table. Aubrey, who was only wearing one of Stacie's t-shirts, sat on her lap and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Nothing, just checking my email." Stacie ran a hand up Aubrey's leg and kissed her.

"Well come back to bed, I'm cold. I want to have a very relaxing day before we get our grades tomorrow." Stacie smiled up at her but Aubrey noticed something was off. She cupped Stacie's cheek. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Stacie nodded. "Everything's great." She pulled Aubrey down for a kiss.

Beca came out of the kitchen with a cereal bowl in her hands. "Dude, you have a room with a door, use it."

Aubrey chuckled. She stood up and grabbed Stacie's hand to pull her into her room. As soon as she closed the door, Aubrey started kissing Stacie hungrily. They moved in the direction of the bed and fell on it without breaking the kiss. Stacie crawled back to the top of the bed, resting her head on the pillows. Aubrey followed her, trying to remove Stacie's shirt in the process. She threw the shirt behind her and started kissing down Stacie's neck.

Stacie was having a really hard time getting into it. She didn't like keeping things from Aubrey but she didn't know how she was going to react when she found out. She just wanted to enjoy being with her. She hadn't noticed Aubrey had stopped kissing her and was on her side leaning on her elbow, looking at her.

Aubrey grabbed her hand. "Where are you?" It wasn't like Stacie to space out, especially when they were about to have sex. Stacie bit her lip and looked away. "Stace, you can tell me anything. What happened?"

Stacie sighed. "I got an email from the dean congratulating me for being the best in our class."

Aubrey frowned. "But our grades won't be ready until tomorrow."

"Well apparently he gets them early." Stacie turned to face Aubrey. "I didn't want you to be upset. I know how hard you worked and how much you care about that, and I would give you the top spot but I know you wouldn't want it if you didn't earn it. I don't know what-"

"Stacie stop, it's okay."

Stacie looked at Aubrey, she was smiling. "It is?"

"Of course. I'm happy for you, baby." She pecked her lips. "Don't think this means I'm not going to try to beat you, though, but I still have three and a half years to do it." Aubrey bit her lip. "And I don't mind being under you."

Stacie smiled and rolled on top of Aubrey. "I don't mind being on top of you."

Aubrey cupped Stacie's cheek. "Never feel bad about doing your best. You push me to try harder. You make me better." She swallowed. "I love you."

Stacie's smile widened. She leaned down to kiss Aubrey and stopped just before their lips touched. "I love you too."